Got Testosterone?

[Irish]

What's the range used for the lab for FT?*

Quest Labs 46 - 224.

Looking at this chart that appears low... Not sure who made it, etc. http://elitemensguide.com/testosterone-levels-by-age/

[WillBrink]

Quest Labs 46 - 224.

Looking at this chart that appears low... Not sure who made it, etc. http://elitemensguide.com/testosterone-levels-by-age/

Low normal of that range it appears yes. On that chart, my position is, I don't want good T levels for my age, I want good T levels when it was at peak for any age. That is, those of healthy 20 something male, which would be in the higher end of the physiological range. The data supports that has having the greatest benefits it seems also. So, personally, I don't pay much attention to Testosterone Levels By Age charts as they have no real utility to me. Your mileage may vary.

[Irish]

I'm wondering if that's low enough to consider sticking myself in the butt every week for the rest of my life... My doc at the VA is a numbskull and laughed when I even mentioned getting a blood test done so he's basically useless as far as this goes.

[WillBrink]

I'm wondering if that's low enough to consider sticking myself in the butt every week for the rest of my life... My doc at the VA is a numbskull and laughed when I even mentioned getting a blood test done so he's basically useless as far as this goes.

On paper, no. Sleep, nutrition, exercise (too little or too much), micro nutrient deficiencies (e.g., zinc, etc), various meds, and other factors can effect T levels, FT, estradiol (E2) and those are usual suspects to address when levels are good but could be better. You also have to look at lab tests in the context of subjective symptoms. I always recommend a base line of T levels for men after 40 regardless, and now you have that.

[Irish]

Thought you guys might appreciate this info:

Now lets figure out which oil is best to use:
Flow Rate can be derived from Poiseuille's Law: Q = ∆p π R^4 / (8 η L)
where
Q is flow rate
∆p is the pressure differential on both sides
R is the radius of the needle
η is the viscosity of the fluid
L is the length of the needle

As you can see from the equation, pressure gradients when drawing are negligible due to the small cross sectional area of the needle acting as an effective choke. I ran an experiment with different gauge syringes and our Testosterone Cypionate in Sesame Oil.

Size of Needle 25G 27G 29G 31G
Amount drawn in 1 minute 2mL 0.8mL 0.32mL 0.07mL
As the results show the amount drawn becomes exponentially smaller with a smaller gauge needle. This is due to the Radius^4 variable in our equation.

So what else does Poiseuille's law teach us? When you have a small radius changing the viscosity won't cause a huge difference in flow rates. It's the radius value that dominates the equation, not the viscosity, pressure differential or length. From this we can determine that the carrier oil wouldn't make a measurable difference in draw time.

[WillBrink]

Thought you guys might appreciate this info:

Holy over thinking it Batman! Where did you get that? Above 25g, drawing up an ML or two takes a long time and becomes quite tedious. Hence, the "trick" is to use a large g needle (20-21g) as the draw needle, and a small g needle for the injection. For some, the "sweet spot" in terms of fairly easy draw is the 25g 1" and inject using one needle only, but for those who want to go as small as possible, 29-30g 1/2", the method mentioned works best.

I had one friend who's doctor told him it was physically "impossible" to use 30g for TRT. I went to his office and showed him said "trick" and that was the end of that. He offered that option to all future men on TRT and used it himself. Docs can be extremely smart people, but creative or out of the box thinkers, not so much in my experience.

[Flankenstein]

Holy over thinking it Batman! Where did you get that? Above 25g, drawing up an ML or two takes a long time and becomes quite tedious. Hence, the "trick" is to use a large g needle (20-21g) as the draw needle, and a small g needle for the injection. For some, the "sweet spot" in terms of fairly easy draw is the 25g 1" and inject using one needle only, but for those who want to go as small as possible, 29-30g 1/2", the method mentioned works best.

I had one friend who's doctor told him it was physically "impossible" to use 30g for TRT. I went to his office and showed him said "trick" and that was the end of that. He offered that option to all future men on TRT and used it himself. Docs can be extremely smart people, but creative or out of the box thinkers, not so much in my experience.

LOL. Yea, way too much thinking. I use an 18g to draw and 25g 1" to inject regardless of location.

As I'm sure you are aware Will, some oils are thicker than others. Yes, x2 on the lack of outside the box thinking..

[Irish]

Holy over thinking it Batman! Where did you get that?

One of the TRT dork forums The argument was going back and forth about warming up the test prior to injection, etc. and somebody with a big brain basically said it doesn't matter due to the size of the hole, blahblahblah... I just thought it was interesting.

ETA - He also recommended 29g as being the best in his opinion.

[WillBrink]

LOL. Yea, way too much thinking. I use an 18g to draw and 25g 1" to inject regardless of location.

As I'm sure you are aware Will, some oils are thicker than others. Yes, x2 on the lack of outside the box thinking..

On those thicker oils, once loaded, run the body of the syringe under hot water for minute or so. That makes the push of the plunger easier if you're having any issues. Obviously, don't let the water hit the needle as the water is not sterile.

[WillBrink]

One of the TRT dork forums The argument was going back and forth about warming up the test prior to injection, etc. and somebody with a big brain basically said it doesn't matter due to the size of the hole, blahblahblah... I just thought it was interesting.

ETA - He also recommended 29g as being the best in his opinion.

Simply try it and you'll see heating the oil does have an effect. Basic rule is, increasing temp increases viscosity and flow rate and it's noticeable when pushing the plunger on a very small needle. He says "When you have a small radius changing the viscosity won't cause a huge difference in flow rates."

Huge no, noticeable, yes....I'm no oil engineer and have not applied Poiseuille's law to TRT I have to admit.

29g is a good choice yes.